At long last, it seems Ravensburger has properly kicked off the spoiler season for Disney Lorcana’s tenth expansion, Fabled. Already, we're being inundated with tons of new cards, so there's plenty to be excited about.
New Additions to Steel
Lilo – Best Explorer Ever
Originally teased a couple of months ago, the overall ability package for Lilo - Best Explorer Ever is finally revealed in full.
Once again, it looks like Ravensburger is really pushing for a wider board presence with how this version of Lilo has two abilities that favor having allies already on the board.
As an early game drop, Best Explorer Ever allows any of her turn 1 and 2 allies to temporarily trade damage at a higher weight class. Unfortunately, the ‘Challenger +2’ that Lilo provides only works on Alien-type characters in subsequent turns.
For her ‘Come on, People, Let’s Move’ ability, there are already some potent early game drops that could become real menaces with that added +2 to Strength. The most potent examples are Calhoun - Marine Sergeant and Rhino - Power Hamster. These two characters with ‘Challenger +2’ can pretty much ensure that any exerted characters on the opponent’s side of the field won’t live past the next turn.
Unfortunately, Lilo’s ‘Go Get ‘Em’ ability has slim pickings for Alien-type characters, at the moment. While Steel will have in-house access to characters like Nathaniel Flint and Mr. Arrow even after set rotation, a player is more inclined to use these said characters for the Lore race, as both have a 2 in their Lore score.
That said, having the option to assassinate priority targets even when left unexerted is quite uncommon and a powerful board control tool for Steel to get access to early on.
Ravensburger is definitely pushing archetypical support with characters like Best Explorer Ever. The Alien archetype isn’t fully established yet, but the fact that this card can at least boost non-Alien characters even for a turn still makes this version of Lilo a worthy general-purpose character.
Jasmine – Fearless Princess
Jasmine - Fearless Princess is the type of mid-game character that can pull double-duty depending on the situation. Her stats make her one of the beefier turn 5 drops that can at least keep up in the Lore race should the need arise.
Fearless Princess’ true value lies in the fact that she can challenge Evasive characters with a 6 Strength total. Currently, there aren't a lot of Evasive units that can withstand that kind of punishment.
Even when on the receiving end of a challenge herself, Jasmine’s 7 in Willpower will ensure she can withstand at least one hit from anything sharing her ink cost or lower.
With that inkable nature, Jasmine can wear another proverbial hat as a player can use her as a resource in the ink well if she’s drawn too early.
More Dumbo Cards
The Magic Feather
It appears that the Dumbo franchise is really playing into the Evasive keyword. This item card partially solves the fragility issue plaguing characters like Olivia Flaversham - The Toymaker's Daughter or Alice - Savvy Sailor, characters who have utility in the Lore race or board presence, but are ultimately easy pickings for challenges.
The Grounded ability on this card even extends its longevity should the original target be banished, and it allows a player to forego a full playset if space in the deck list is already tight. This solidifies the Magic Feather as a very versatile tech option depending on the player's win condition.
Dumbo – Ninth Wonder of the Universe
Another Dumbo variant graces the Amethyst roster, and this one is making us wonder if Friends On The Other Side will be reprinted in Fabled.
With Evasive protecting its fragile 3 Willpower body, Ninth Wonder of the Universe can turn any Evasive character into a draw engine. What’s even worse, or better depending on how you view this card, the draw effect comes packaged with a Lore gain.
Thankfully, the Lore gain is a trifling 1 Lore per character, but if you’re facing this kind of engine, your only outs would be having your own Evasive characters or direct board removal. The latter is under the assumption that the opponent isn’t doing any shenanigans like giving Ward to their evasive units.
The design for Dumbo - Ninth Wonder of the Universe is a little concerning at the moment. It’s possible that this card won’t end up being ban-worthy like Hiram Flaversham - Toymaker was, but we'll have to wait and see about that.
Across all trading card games, it seems that players have an innate ability for breaking cards and make decks that are oppressive and overly efficient. When this happens, the integrity and overall fun of the game are hurt, and the creators have to step in.
Players may want to keep an eye out for this card when Fabled finally hits the shelves. Hopefully, the set rotation will keep Ninth Wonder of the Universe in check so it doesn’t find itself on the ban list alongside Toymaker.
More ‘A Goofy Movie’ Cards
Out of the three, Powerline - Taking the Stage is the most prominent new A Goofy Movie spoiler. Not only is Powerline the only in-house Singer character for Ruby, but Taking the Stage confirms our earlier suspicion of a Shift line for World’s Greatest Rockstar.
Max Goof – Rebellious Teen comes in the middle of the pack as a pseudo 4-ink cost recursion tool for any 3-ink cost song previously played. His stats for his total cost leave a lot to be desired, but having the ability to bring back a song does give Max utility.
Unfortunately for Goofy - Set for Adventure, he brings up the rear. Set for Adventure has pretty average stats for its ink cost, but its ability is heavily reliant on Location cards.
Assuming we follow Ravensburger’s subtle push for an Emerald-Ruby combination, Owl Island or Hidden Cove (confirmed to be reprinted) would probably be some of the better choices for Goofy’s ability to move characters around.
The draw that Set for Adventure gives is a nice little ribbon on his package, though, and given that set rotation will slim down a good amount of Emerald’s early game draw power, it’s not an unwelcome ability for a character to have.